Cyber intrusions and other data breaches put the personal records of 18.5 million Californians, nearly half the state's population, at risk in 2013, a seven-fold increase over the year before, the state attorney general reported on Tuesday.

Staples Inc is investigating a possible breach of payment card data and has contacted law enforcement about the matter, making it the latest U.S. retailer to become a possible victim of a cyberattack.
"Staples is in the process of investigating a...

Hackers gained access to social security numbers and other sensitive information from up to around 850,000 Oregon job-seekers in a massive breach that began some time before Oct. 6, the state's employment department said on Tuesday.
The security flaw...

Sandwich restaurant chain Jimmy John's said there was a potential security breach involving customers' credit and debit card data at 216 of its stores, including two in Hampton Roads, on July 30.
An intruder stole log-in credentials from the company's...

Sandwich restaurant chain Jimmy John's said there was a potential security breach involving customers' credit and debit card data at 216 of its stores and franchised locations on July 30.
An intruder stole log-in credentials from the company's vendor and...

Target Corp. is hoping its newly hired chief information officer Bob DeRodes and its plan to switch its in-house payment cards to a more secure chip-and-PIN system from MasterCard Inc. will help it avoid another massive data breach.
The Minneapolis retail giant has made deep changes to its information security systems ever since cyber-criminals broke in during the holiday season last year and made off with data from up to 110 million customers.
On Tuesday, the chain said that DeRodes would step into...

Michaels Stores Inc. said Thursday that 3 million credit and debit cards may have been exposed in a pair of security breaches.
The breach involving Michaels and its Aaron Brothers stores were previously reported in January by the blog Krebs on Security. However, in a press release Thursday, the company said in the wake of the disclosure that it had "retained two independent, expert security firms to conduct an extensive investigation."
PHOTOS: Top 5 tech acquisitions of 2014 so far
That...

Target Corp.'s head of technology stepped down Wednesday as the company tries to recover from one of the largest data breaches on record at a retailer.
Beth Jacob, who served as executive vice president of technology services and chief information officer for Target since 2008, resigned both posts, Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement.
"While we are still in the process of an ongoing investigation, we recognize that the information security environment is evolving rapidly," he said....

Michaels Stores, Inc. Photos

George Thorogood is m-m-m-m-mad.
The '80s rocker filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against Michaels Stores Inc., accusing the retailer of selling T-shirts that infringed on the trademark he holds for "Bad to the Bone," the title of his 1982 smash hit.
Michaels, which operates a chain of arts-and-crafts stores, sells products to make a "Bad to the Bone tee" on its website. Officials with the Texas-based retailer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
PHOTOS: Top...

Charles Wyly
Texas billionaire and philanthropist
Charles Wyly, 77, a Texas billionaire and philanthropist whose family donated millions of dollars to Republican causes and Dallas arts projects, died Sunday after a car accident in western Colorado, authorities said.
Wyly, who maintained a home near Aspen, Colo., was turning onto a highway near the local airport when his Porsche was hit by a sport utility vehicle, the Colorado State Patrol said in a statement. Wyly died at Aspen Valley Hospital. The...

Kara Jorud was ill with breast cancer. She informed her boss at Michaels arts and craft store in Boca Raton, Fla. that she would need surgery and time off to recover.
Last week Jorud, 47, won an $8.1 million verdict from a federal jury after she sued her employer, claiming she was harassed for taking time off and then unjustly fired. The suit cited violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and other worker protection laws.
Michaels Stores Inc., a retail chain based in Irving, Texas, said...